Learning, Technology and Education MA student Ezequiel Aleman has received national attention in Uruguay for his project Bricks and Bits. In May, over 1,200 children participated in Mr. Aleman's Maker exhibition, in which university students design challenges for primary and secondary school students. The challenges involved squishy circuits, stop-motion animation, virtual reality games, and coding drones and robots, among many other activities. Additionally, Mr. Aleman organized a new project for this dissertation research involving a group of 38 students re-designing an old or unused toys for a six-year old child. From dolls to dinosaurs, students had to use their design skills to learn about the children’s current interests and incorporate them into a new design.
Bricks and Bits received local and national coverage on radio, TV and press. Local governments are now requesting the event to travel to new locations. Three new locations have already been confirmed for 2018 including one which will specifically aim at challenging 50 female high-school students...